10-man Adelaide United stunned Melbourne City at Coopers Stadium on Friday night, sealing an incredible 4-1 win over the reigning Champions.
CommBank Socceroo Craig Goodwin missed out on the clash at Coopers Stadium due to his late return from international duty, but the home side still started with a bang; midfield dynamo Ethan Alagich curling home from the edge of the box after a cheap giveaway from City’s Zane Schreiber ultimately proved costly.
Still reeling from the opening goal, City then found themselves 2-0 down just three minutes later when winger Yaya Dukuly weaved his way into the box before finding Luka Jovanovic, and the striker did the rest, drilling home a low effort beyond the diving Patrick Beach to make it three goals in his last three games.
The game was then flipped on its head in the 39th minute. A tangle of legs between Dylan Pierias and Andreas Kuen seemed innocuous at first, but referee Shaun Evans thought otherwise, dishing out a red card to the Adelaide man for an act of violent conduct in the move and City capitalised from the resulting freekick.
Receiving the ball on the edge of the Adelaide box, Japanese forward Takeshi Kanamori lashed an unstoppable strike into the top corner to silence Coopers Stadium and all of a sudden it was game on.
Playing the entire second half with 10 men, the Reds set about protecting their slender advantage but were dangerous on the break, and actually thought they’d made it 3-1 in the 69th minute; however substitute Panashe Madanha’s goal was ruled out for a foul in the build-up.
But whilst City had the numerical advantage, Adelaide goalkeeper Joshua Smits was rarely tested and it was indeed the home crowd who were soon jumping for joy thanks to another young star from their academy.
Winning the ball back high up the pitch following a Reds freekick, substitute Ryan White dazzled his way past several City challenges before firing a low shot into the bottom corner to blow the roof off Coopers Stadium, and the decibel level was about to get even higher.
Chasing down what seemed to be a lost cause, midfielder Jay Barnett kept the ball in play down the Reds’ left and all of a sudden City were scrambling. Playing White through on goal with a simple pass, the youngster’s shot was deflected onto the post by Beach but there was Barnett to follow up the rebound and slot home his first ever A-Leagues goal to put the icing on the cake.
The win sees Adelaide move up into third on the ladder, leapfrogging a Melbourne City side that had previously conceded just one goal from their opening four games.
Furthermore, the result for Adelaide United means they remain unbeaten against City in 10 matches – a run which stretches all the way back to 2018.
